LXIII ||| Eat to Be Eaten

He's cooking some pasta for me in the cabin's kitchen.

In all but his underwear, while I'm just with my panties on. As he asked me to stay topless, because he wanted to admire my breasts for longer. Of course… if that's what it takes to help him not think about his past, then I'm all in. Besides, it feels good to stay only in these panties.

"So," I began while siting over the small island in the center, with my legs flying given the height I'm in, and believe me, these wooden places being called a cabin is a bloody understatement given how they look like small luxury wooden houses. But again, everything in Belladonna is bloody overbearing and soaring in luxury. "Does that mean that aside from being physically 17, you're mentally about 1475 years old? Given the +500 on the time frozen castle Mia has in Austria?"

He gave me a side naughty look, "Pretty much, yes. Though no one but Mia and now you knows about that, so, to everyone else I'm 975."

"I'm good with secrets," I winked.

"I know, I trust you, beautiful. And does this mean that aside from being 17 physically, you're 3057 years old, given the +1000 on the frozen time you spend while training with Cosmos?" Oh, I hadn't put it like that.

It made me blush, "Makes me feel old."

"Not old, ancient!" He winked, making me laugh.

"Bastard, only my kind is ancient, alright? But it's so weird, isn't it? The fact that ten years ago we were a seven-year-old kids but already centuries old?This whole stasis shite is so bloody freaking weird."

He turned to me with a glass of passion fruit juice, "It is, but the fact that we're immortals is weird by itself. Here," he gave me the glass, "I noticed you drink this juice everyday in the cafeteria, but you kept running away before I could ask you about it. And you also avoided my questions when I send you texts on this small curiosities."

That made me suddenly blush, I was being so bloody stupid. "I… sorry about that. I'm still learning how to deal with people. You know, I tend to freak out," I drank a bit of the juice. "It's delicious. And yes, it's one of my favorite juices with strawberry juice. Also my favorite fruits, though you already knew about the strawberry."

Oliver grinned sensually and came to stop between my legs, hands going up to my waist, and then to my breasts as he pinched my nipples softly, making me choke on the juice, "The one I taste like."

I gulped, "Y-y-ye-ye-yes… Ye-yes."

"Beautiful, there's something I've been thinking."

"Y-yes?"

He chuckled softly, hands off my breasts, back to my waist, "Not about that. It's that I found something on the books that isn't matching with what you told me," that made me frowned.

"What did you found?" I brought him closer to me, putting the glass down and enlacing my arms on his neck, "What doesn't match?"

"Emerald."

That made me tense up, "The only gem that can harm me."

"That's what's weird, beautiful. One of the books I read, was noting down everything about the architecture of the Winged Serpents Kingdom in the skies. But the weird part is that pretty much every structure in the Palace is made of emerald." Oh, he's talking about that?

"Tsk, I knew the Palace was in the skies, I felt like it was floating. But yes, I saw the Palace when I was into Lydia's frozen... life? I mean, she was in one training ground around a beautiful garden. The Palace was right behind her, so majestically huge in height and so large I couldn't see the ends of it. Though I only paid attention on her."

He caressed my skin, "That's what I'm talking about, beautiful. It wouldn't be made of emerald if it weakened your kind. No one would be that much of a dumbarse, and your kind definitely was acknowledgeable, a lot more than the others."

What? "You think Meredith's got the information wrong?"

A nod, "Maybe the Maiden wasn't helping her, Hel. Maybe it was interfering in the way it could to make sure you would come back in your full power. After all, the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone are both the mothers of your kind, while only the Crone made mine. And the Goddesses can't interfere in world affairs directly, so, maybe she played Meredith!"

I blinked and my eyes widened, "What?"

"Beautiful, in the book I read, it said that the Royal Capital of the Winged Serpents where the blacks stayed, and where the Palace is, was called the Emerald Sky City because it was the stone that brought out the strongest abilities of your kind, and of the gargoyles."

"But… but the coffin slowed down my healing."

"Did it?" He arched an eyebrow in suspicion. "What if it helped so much that you awakened your time magic without knowing, beautiful? And what if it wasn't the coffin that slowed your healing, but you accidentally were slowing time down? You did come out strong out of there. And you did absorb emerald into your scales, didn't you? That wouldn't have ever happened if emerald harmed you, Hel."

Now, this is a lot. "So… you think the Maden, one of the primordial Goddesses, played Meredith to make her think she would help her harm me, when in truth, she was helping me to stay alive and strong?"

A nod, "I kept looking at your back tattoo when we were in bed, and I couldn't stop thinking about those emerald scales in your black form, which in fact, is made of obsidian. All your scales are. This architecture book mentioned superficially that each winged serpent type had scales of gems, which was inspired after the dragons fascination for riches."

"My body… is of obsidian and emerald?" I gasped.

"Awesome, uh?" Oliver chuckled. "I note it down to show you. But I have it all on my mind, thanks to my photographic memory," he winked.

"Which I also have," I grinned condescendingly.

"Good, good, more in common for us," aye. "So, the scales of the yellow winged serpents are of citrine and yellow jasper, the reds had scales of ruby and garnet, the blues had sapphire and sodalite, the greens' scales were of peridot and jade, purples were of amethyst and fluorite, whites are the ones with selenite and opal scales, and lastly the blacks with their scales of obsidian and onyx. All pretty much an indestructible natural armor."

Wow, "Onyx too?" A nod. "Then obsidian, onyx, and emerald."

He pressed his lips on mine softly, "I think this might make you a bit stronger than the others blacks of the old world. Plus the fact that you went through stasis, and they definitely didn't have that costume."

"But did you see something else in this book, Oli? I mean, if it talks about the Emerald Sky City like that, did it, perhaps, say where is it? I mean, yes, in the sky, but where is he entry from the surface? How do we get there?" Maybe it's still there.

Smiling, he nuzzled his nose on mine, "Where was your mom's lair again, beautiful?" What?

Is it related? "In the Himalayas Mountain Range."

He tilted his head, "Which one? Which mount?"

What was the name Cosmos said again? "Everest. Mount Everest. Near the tip of it. I don't remember necessarily how to go there, since in the beginning I was just there, and some weeks ago Cosmos just threw me at the top with his spatial magic, since he had no real idea where it was, but that it was there. And he called the mountain of the highest peak, where my mom's lair was and is, Mount Everest."

Oliver stole me one more quick kiss and turned to get the white cream with melted cheese and sliced spicy pepperoni from the pan in the oven, then he poured it all on the glass recipient where the cooked fettuccine pasta was all ready. After mixing it all together gracefully, without ever braking the pasta, he walked to the four-seats wooded table and put it down there. Together with three glasses for me and one for him, water and passion fruit juice for me and whiskey for both of us.

When he turned to me again, he gave me that absurdly gorgeous smile with dimples and fangs, and slowly traced his eyes from my head to toes, then he cat walked towards me, getting between my legs again and holding my thighs and hips to him as he lifted me up and brought me to where he wanted me to seat. "What are you thinking is this little naughty mind of yours, beautiful?"

"You just look insanely hot while doing all this so graciously, and making sure I'm feeding well, even though you won't eat the food," looking him up, I passed my index finger over my bottom lip softly. "I'm also here wondering if you're good in everything. Is your only defect being annoying and infuriating?"

He grinned, "The idea of nurturing you, be it with food, blood, or any other thing you want to, feels right to me. Besides, again, I did do my best in those cooking classes for you. Time to put it to use," he pointed at the pasta. "I also enjoy watching you eat quite a lot. Now, eat, beautiful. When you're done I'll take the strawberry ice cream with Oreo I made, then you eat it for dessert. You need to eat a lot to stay as strong as you are. Drink everything too, you need it."

"What about you?" I bait my eyelashes slowly.

Oliver's eyes turned red and fell to my lips, then to my neck, and back to my eyes, "I'll eat you after you're feed. So, eat, beautiful!"